The House Ethics Committee voted Thursday to launch an investigation into whether Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) improperly pressured her congressional staff to work on her 2010 reelection campaign.

The committee voted behind closed doors to begin the probe on the three-term Congresswoman, reports the L.A. Times.

Richardson allegedly ordered her staff to work on her reelection campaign or be fired, which would be a violation of House ethics rules. Members and offices are not permitted to compel House employees to do campaign work.

Richardson effectively confirmed the news before the committee had a chance to officially announce it by releasing a statement slamming the committee for using investigations for “political purposes” and only targeting “certain members,” reports the AP.

A preliminary inquiry into Richardson’s conduct during the 2010 midterm elections has been under way for more than a year, POLITICO has reported.

Richardson originally responded to the news of the vote late Thursday with a statement to the L.A. Times that accused the ethics committee of “unjustly targeting some members while overlooking the well-publicized misuse of official House resources for personal purposes by numerous other members of Congress.”

POLITICO had reported earlier that the California Democrat had previously sent a private letter to all 10 members of the Ethics Committee in an attempt to head off the investigation.

Richardson said in the letter that she would agree to a minor penalty, such as a public reprimand, but urged her House colleagues not to move forward with a full investigation, which could seriously hinder her reelection bid in 2012.

Due to redistricting, Richardson may face a three-way Democratic primary this election cycle.